


Pixie Dust

by spacejasontodd



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Fae Magic, Fluff and Angst, Half-fae Robbie, If all goes well this is going to be long, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, half-fae AU, sfw, sportarobbie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:16:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacejasontodd/pseuds/spacejasontodd
Summary: Robbie Rotten is a rare creature know as half-fae with a smaller amount of abilities than his fairy siblings, but still enough to mess with people's heads. He can cast simple spells and lives longer than an ordinary human, and LazyTown turned out to be the perfect place for him to live and protect.His peace is disturbed the moment a certain man in blue comes into his life, bringing in a weird energy that suggests he may not the the person he claims to be...  (Or, Robbie is ready to make a mess and cause some chaos in order to discover who Sportacus really is.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first story so please don't be too harsh on me! I'm really hoping you'll like it and that writing the next chapters will be as enjoyable as it was until now. The further the story goes the more characters we will see. 
> 
> If you notice any mistakes let me know, I'm not a native speaker. 
> 
> Feel free to message me at my Tumblr, spacejasontodd !!

Being a half-fae was something more than unusual. These creatures, more often than not called the tricksters of magical world, tend to stick to their generally closed-off groups as special family and romantic bonds give them strength and add courage. They cannot be found if they don’t want to be seen, nor it is easy to make them curious enough to reveal themselves. Faes are far more powerful than given credit, sometimes even a pinch of magic is enough to cause trouble and chaos. That’s why after several unfortunate run-ins they’re usually considered dangerous by humans while other creatures simply avoid them. They are loud and playful, full of creative ideas on how to ruin somebody’s day or mischievous plans against neighbors they consider annoying. And that made Robbie special.

Through the years Robbie learned many things about himself and his powers, from what time of month makes him the most vivacious to how much energy is drained out of him by certain spells. Not that he knew much anyway, he wasn’t specially gifted. As much as he could feel the magic slowly flowing in his veins, using it for anything more than a simple disguise or small-distance teleportation was possible only on the nights of a full moon considering that he isolated himself from other non-humans. Generally faes were likely to share their magic with other creatures to get more power in return, even the presence of them alone was enough to fill the fairies with energy. Robbie guessed he'd have to get by without it.

Living among people wasn’t half bad as long as they were quite quiet and led a peaceful life, although it sure could get boring at times. The thing was Robbie outlived many of them, watched how children turned to teenagers, then to adults, and how much they changed during those countless years while he stayed the same. Time fled quickly between his tricks and before he knew it everything around him was different. _He only gained experience_ , he liked to tell himself as the feeling of loneliness would become too obvious to ignore. That was one of the main reasons he never bothered going outside or befriending anybody. Besides, he could only understand machines – the way they worked, how they reacted upon certain circumstances, whereas these _feelings_ were too complicated and unpredictable for him.

Here in LazyTown nobody knew the truth about Robbie nor they had any idea about his past and thanks to that he almost never had to worry about a single thing. The townsfolk was made out of pretty straightforward people, usually too caught up in their everyday life to ask too many questions. The half fae was easily accepted as an outsider, too shy to actually talk to the others, and thanks to that he actually liked living here, not causing much trouble.

Imagine his confusion when, soon after Sportacus arrived to LazyTown for the first time, the engineer discovered the noticeable changes around him. Suddenly Robbie was able to cast much more spells than before, some of them gained on power while the others became more precise. He still couldn’t heal, but he supposed that was just his lack of luck. Either way, all of this could mean only one thing – he wasn’t the only magical creature in the neighborhood anymore. All he knew was that Sportacus was nothing like himself as faes could recognize each other almost immediately. He didn’t seem like a troll either, though with a proper disguise spell who could tell… Whatever the truth was, Robbie promised himself he’d find out the stranger’s real identity, through small lies and such. And he was best at spreading chaos.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I deliver you the second chapter of the story! It may seem slightly short, but it's after 1am and I got tired.  
> Enjoy!

So he tried. Through countless disguises and master plans, Robbie was doing his best to get close enough to the stranger and reveal the truth behind that pretty smile and blue eyes. There had to be something more to this than actually teaching the children to eat healthier and exercise regularly, he was sure of it. The half-fae could almost smell how something didn't add up here, but sadly he soon discovered his goal wouldn't be as easy to reach as he previously hoped. Truthfully, it was nearly impossible to plan out anything with these little brats doing so much noise outside, whenever they played basketball or had yet another dance competition and it'd drive him crazy. What was even worse, to achieve at least some peace Robbie had to ruin all of their fun on his very own, which led to loosing the energy he had left and the amount of spells he could cast during the day.

The engineer's patience was wearing thin fast enough for him to get frustrated every once in a while and kick the nearest invention of his own. Were the kids after him, knowing exactly what he was trying to do? And would that mean they were just toying with him and teasing on every step? Was there a chance that Sportacus himself instructed them on how to act around him? There were too many possibilities for Robbie not to get a headache. He had to take a nap. And maybe eat a piece of cake to restore his energy.

 

\---

 

The next few days weren't anything more than a disappointment and an embarrassment for the villain. It seemed like the stranger knew exactly how to stop him and successed every time, no matter the effort Robbie took to win. This guy - Sportacus, he should remember to call him by his name - even tried sweet-talking him at some point after rescuing Robbie from falling into a hole, being all nice and helpful and treating him like one of the children that adored him so much. He felt nauseous.

To prevent himself from further thinking about the topic, the half-fae made his way to a board full of different notes, documents and red strings. His whole knowledge about the mysterious man was gathered there, from small details he noticed during their encounters to more specific information. Learning about the crystal should be a bigger clue, especially since Robbie was sure he had seen something similar at least once, and yet it was harder to pinpoint than it looked. Memorising wasn't his strongest advantage.

He kept staring at the board, from time to time squinting some as if it'd help him find the answers hidden among the words. Soon after he found himself going back and forth around his lair, his hand never leaving his chin as he was muttering to himself quietly. It had taken some time before he threw both arms above his head, grimacing.

“This is _ridiculous_!” He huffed, then put the heels of his palms over his eyes, rubbing at them desperately. “This way it could take weeks before I move forward with my research!” Robbie kicked at his favorite orange armchair before flopping down tiredly, massaging his temples. “This should be so much easier. He's not a fairy, he doesn't even use magic. A troll would've already made a move, maybe kidnap one of those brats. A faun is not the case, I'm pretty sure I saw his feet some time ago. So what are you hiding, Mr Flippity Floppity Flop?” He sent the drawing of Sportacus a glare.

As something clicked, he furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side, eyes going from one picture to another. Putting the pieces together, the half-fae slowly abandoned his spot and almost cautiously came closer to the board. At last Robbie smirked, a mischievous glint shone in his eyes as he stared at the stranger's hat that appeared in every single photo. He had an idea.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're doing pretty well here! First of all thank you for all your warm words, I didn't expect this fic to become so popular so quickly and I'm really excited about it! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and see you in the comments section. :)

His new set of problems became clear shortly after his first attempt to snatch the hat from Sportacus’ head. The more attention he paid to the stranger the more obvious it was that he was nearly never alone! Surrounded by children or the few adults of LazyTown, the man was well guarded and it was extremely difficult to come closer without being noticed. Even his costumes weren’t enough to fool them for long which was something he has never met with before, had he gotten old or simply went out of practice, he couldn’t really tell. Sure thing, he nearly achieved his goal those few rare times, but the kids would always prevent him from winning. As a trickster he felt almost insulted that at the end his plans never worked.

Whatever the results were Robbie didn’t even think of giving up, not while the stranger still remained in _his_ town with his stupid _airship_ and _sportscandy_. He was slightly surprised nobody noticed how inhuman was Sportacus and his abilities, then again neither they knew about himself having fairy ancestors. The difference between them was that Robbie actually liked this place and tried to protect it with his magic while the other could as well be dangerous to his children or even _take them away from him_! The half-fae might not remember their names, but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about them, as annoying as they could get.

As he watched the streets of LazyTown he raised an eyebrow, confused that wherever he looked there was no one to be seen, not a single child. He could’ve assumed they took a day off from all their running, but not even Sportacus was out. He hummed softly and bit his lip considering going outside, just in case something actually happened. It wouldn’t hurt to move just a little, now would it?

 

\---

 

He hated _everything_. He knew he had all the reasons to keep his magic for later as he had no idea what he’d get himself into, but it itched him to teleport somewhere instead of walking. He wasn’t a human, he shouldn’t have to move and simply looking at how much Sportacus was exercising made him sick. To add more to his misery it was getting colder now that they’d gotten closer to winter season and his jumpsuit wasn’t exactly fit for such weather. With every moment he regretted forgetting to put on something warmer more and more. A coat sounded delightful for that matter.

It took Robbie some time to locate the kids and the rest of the residents of LazyTown, and as much as he tried to prepare himself for every possibility, he did not expect to see them gathered around Sportacus again. He couldn’t hear them as clearly as he wanted, the window suppressed the noises too well for this, but the situation was obvious anyway – they were praising and thanking him for everything he did for them, hung a cookie medal on his neck and baked him a cake. _He wouldn’t even eat it_! The man tried to be modest but was soon silenced by the cheerful and loud voices of the kids. The half-fae felt a pang of jealousy.

He might have not been the most active neighbor here but he’d have never thought they’d forget about him so easily. It was as if he was replaced with someone better at being social and enthusiastic, a real hero. Yes, Robbie was aware that the townsfolk had no idea he has protected them for decades now, but it’d be nice to be acknowledged at least every once in a while if only with a single warm word. But if the people saw him as a villain then he’d become one, the _worst_ _they have ever met_. And as a villain he didn’t need praises and cakes, he could bake those himself.

Robbie turned on his heel and started walking back to his lair, still murmuring angrily under his breath. As he was focused on the road he didn’t noticed that he was being watched by a pair of blue eyes, saddened by the image of a lone figure in the distance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time something a bit more exciting.

Robbie Rotten was a very unusual person, that much Sportacus could say from his experience. He was goofy and liked sweets, sometimes even shared them with children which was very nice of him. But then there were times when he'd shut himself off completely, become bitter and quiet for as it seemed no specific reason. It'd happen even more often lately, especially with Sportacus around and it made him wonder what mistake did he make? He tried to look at it from a different perspective several times but it wasn't that helpful either. He was friendly around him, reached out to him a few times, offered some sportscandy and invited for exercises. It worked with children. But apparently, Robbie wasn't one and it was too easy to forget about sometimes. 

The following week has been weirdly peaceful without the villain to ruin their fun and it somehow saddened him. He recalled well how fear and distress turned into raw disappointment on Robbie's face the other day and the way he stormed out back to his home, choosing to avoid them. Why has he become so sad all of sudden? Why didn't he join them in celebration? Did Stephanie forget to hand him an invitation for the event? He really needed the answers, if only to make his new neighbor feel better. 

Sportacus tried to ask around for more information, mostly mayor Meanswell and Ms Busybody as they lived in LazyTown for the longest time, but it seemed nobody knew that much about the villain. He lived here since everyone remembered, rarely left his lair as it was the place he felt most comfortable in. He was a genius too, an inventor of countless different machines, few of them the hero had a chance to see from up close. Except for that there was nothing they could tell him about. No family, ancestors, it was always only _him_. 

The longer it took for him to understand the more frustrated he has become and before he could stop himself he was leaving his airship for a small walk around the town. The sun was already hidden behind the massive mountains and if he didn't know better he might have thought it was night time. Sportacus wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood choosing walking over jogging, every once in a while looking up to stare at the moon for a few good moments. It was a nice, although rather chilly evening, perfect for clearing one's head. 

As Sportacus kept on going his crystal went off, its light nearly blinding. _Someone's in trouble!_ He thought as he looked around. It was surprising as nobody seemed to be outside except for him, but he could as well not notice someone on his way here. The crystal guided him through several alleys and shortcuts before he found himself standing in front of a huge banner with a poster of a cow. A couple of purple and pink lights came from behind it as did a quiet curse. Without thinking it through the hero headed there only to find someone curled up in one of the corners of the banner, the person being the source of differently colored glows. 

_ Robbie.  _

The man didn't move an inch when Sportacus kneeled beside him, reaching out to carefully put a hand on his shoulder. He was shivering. 

“Robbie, are you okay?” He asked softly, looking for any kind of reaction. All he got was silence. “Please, it's important.”

The villain shifted somewhat only to glare at Sportacus with some pain hidden in his eyes. “Go away.” He spit out, his voice weirdly hoarse and tired. Sportacus wondered if he has gotten any rest lately. 

“I swear I will, but let me help you first. It's so cold out here, why not come back to your place?” He offered with a nervous smile, rubbing the other's shoulder reassuringly.

“I said _go away_!” Robbie repeated with more power this time, shoving his hand away and trying to put some distance between them. “I don't need you or your help Sportaflop, I'm perfectly _fine_!”

“But my crystal--”

“I don't care about your stupid crystal!” The villIain stood up gustily, the colorful sparks becoming more visible again. “ _You should leave immediately!_ ”

Sportacus followed him up wanting to ask why, but before he even opened his mouth something struck him. It took his breath away, weird cold spreading up in his chest and touching his heart like a piece of ice. The last thing he saw was Robbie's horrified expression and the full moon glancing down at them from the dark sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sorry. 
> 
> If you have any questions feel free to write them down in the comments below or message me at my Tumblr, spacejasontodd.
> 
> I'd also be really grateful if you told me if you want more chapters from Sportacus' perspective!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I like how this one turned out, it's pretty long though I have to admit I had small troubles to make everything work. Let's hope for the best!

Robbie's head was spinning as he watched the other go down in what it felt like slow motion. No, this was not what he wanted, he needed him to leave not straight up die _goddamnit!_ The children could not find out about this, they would’ve never forgiven him and hate him with all their hearts and he wouldn't be able to change it, what was he even think, he didn't want this, he didn't!  

His train of thought was disturbed by a single groan. The villain glanced shocked at Sportacus, then cautiously shifted closer and kneeled beside him to check his vitals. His hands were trembling as he checked the pulse and heartbeat and he hated himself for being so weak. As everything appeared to be in order, he let out a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding. So it wasn't the end.

What should he do now? Leaving the hero on the cool concrete wasn't an option, but neither he liked the idea of taking him to the lair. Robbie still wasn't ready to trust him and even such accident wouldn't change that. He closed his eyes firmly, biting his lip until he could taste metal. 

_ And what the kids would like him to do?  _

They’d want him to help and make it better, obviously. Help their favorite hero out and make him stand back on his own feet. He supposed he could make an exception, just for them. 

Going down back to his place was something he'd rather forget about. It left his exhausted and gasping for air, wishing he could go to sleep already and the only advantage of his tiredness was that his magic got a little easier to control. Soon after he dragged Sportacus a little further into the lair and laid him down on the fuzzy orange chair which turned into a rather small bed now that he used the right switch. 

After making sure the other was quite comfortable, Robbie stripped him down from his vest and shirt to check for injuries,  his every touch careful and gentle. At the first glance everything seemed fine; there were no wounds or bruises in sight, thankfully. But as he reached to the hero's chest he felt as if his hand was on fire, burning with blinding pain until he took it away. He cursed under his breath as he examined his now hurt palm and red tips of his fingers. This was no good. 

The villain desperately tried to remember any helpful information about such signs but nothing specific occurred in his mind. Hell, he didn't even know how he did it, he never met with that kind of spell and suddenly he regretted not learning more about his abilities. 

Whatever it was, Sportacus was still alive and that's what Robbie should focus on instead of giving in to his anxiety. He could let himself panic later, but now was not the right moment. It was time for him to be the hero, just this once. 

 

\---

 

Staying awake for the rest of the night was no easy task, but he managed to keep an eye on his “guest”. The half-fae sent the orange bed a tired glance and only grimaced as he noticed how peaceful the stranger's face was. Sportacus was going to make it, that was obvious by now after so many hours since  the accident. Heck, if Robbie was lucky maybe the man wouldn’t remember that much from yesterday. At least he hoped so. He still didn’t feel so certain about revealing his identity.

He quickly gave up on thinking so much as it only made his head hurt more, he could as well bang his forehead against the metal desk for the same result. Although there was still something, just a thought, that gnawed on him whenever he was looking at the man in blue. That was a perfect opportunity to finally learn the truth about the hero, what exactly he was and what closely followed - what were his intentions towards LazyTown. This task couldn't get any easier, it was a child's play. And yet Robbie couldn't find it in himself to do it.

“I didn't want to know anyway…” He muttered, waving off the idea as if to make it go away. _This way it wouldn't be fair_ , he told himself. _Besides, I suppose I owe him that much. There will be another time._

Not to give in to sleep, the villain shuffled lazily to the kitchen to make himself a strong coffee with more sugar than usual. He felt like he needed all the energy he could get to stay awake, not to mention dealing with consequences of his actions later, not that that was his fault. After all he _did_ warn Sportacus. As he was slowly emptying the mug he thought with bitterness about tonight's events and shuddered slightly, making a face. 

He started feeling bad at the very beginning of the night as the moon rose from above the horizon, gleaming over the entrance to his lair. Full moons were always wild rides as his magic gained on power and grew unstable, though he was used to that much. The real trouble came to life after Sportacus started hanging around more, his supernatural energy rubbing off on everything that surrounded him, including the children, adults and Robbie. Despite his best efforts the villain could no longer control it, becoming dangerous even to himself. Unfortunately for him, Sportacus found out about it the hard way.

He decided it'd be better to stay by the hero's side, at least for now. He still hasn't woken up and Robbie didn't really want to leave him alone for too long, not when he still wasn't sure in what state the other was. A couple more hours was nothing for him, right? He had to wait just a little longer.   
  



	6. Chapter 6

It was like waking up from a nightmare you couldn’t remember, but knew you should be afraid of. There was some panting and gasping for air combined with this strange tingling his in chest, his vision still blurry from sleep. As he sat up he noticed he was tangled in a soft material, but it didn’t feel like his usual covers. There was a hand, too, gripping his shoulder firmly to ground him back to reality. It took Sportacus some blinking before he could make out something more than dark shapes and surprised to see the villain's face he frowned. It was almost weird to see him sitting on the edge of the bed this worried about anything. What did he miss? 

“Robbie?” He muttered rubbing at his eyes to shake off the sleep, then adjusted the blanket on his shoulders. “What happened..?”

The other was quiet for a moment, clearly deep in thought before he let his hand slide down on the armrest. “And how much do you remember?”

That was a good question. It was still before his bedtime, his crystal shining in the darkness, Robbie sitting outside his lair despite the cold weather… “Not enough.” 

The villain sighed, though Sportacus couldn't tell if he felt relief or was annoyed with him. He was still shaken enough not to think straight. “Your crystal thought I might need help, but for your information I was perfectly _fine_. But it was late, you didn’t see much, tripped, feel on the ground, lost consciousness, probably hit your head.” 

“And how I got here?” 

“I took you in, obviously. The brats would've been _heartbroken_ to find their hero hurting.” Robbie shrugged casually as he left his spot and reached for his already cooled coffee. He took a sip and grimaced at the taste before he spoke up again. „You can stop pretending now, you know.”

Sportacus looked up at him and furrowed his eyebrows a little in confusion.

“I’m sorry?”

“The kids aren’t around anymore.” Robbie said as if it explained everything. After not receiving an answer he rolled his eyes irritated. “You don’t have to pretend to like me any longer, no one’s watching.”

He didn’t expect that.

“But Robbie,” Sportacus smiled softly, his blue eyes nearly sparkling with honesty. “I  genuinely like you!” 

“No, you don’t.” The villain grumbled stubbornly, focused on the remains of his drink. He wasn’t happy with where this conversation was going.

“I really do though—“

“ _Then you shouldn’t._ ” The other cut him off quickly, sending him a cold glare. “I am the villain of this story, am I not? I’m evil, with all my plans and disguises, trying to make you leave and hurt the town’s great hero. I am _not_ to be liked, but to be afraid of. You should learn it by now.” 

It truly saddened Sportacus to watch Robbie push everyone away at every occasion, repeating the same words over and over as if to convince himself they’re true. To be a hero and not be able to help somebody, it really hurt, especially if this person actually deserved it. But he wasn’t going to give up that easily. 

“You did help me.” He pointed out, the corners of his lips curling a bit.

“For the children.”

“So you do admit that you care about someone?”

He met with a short silence, then a snarl. “Oh, shut it already Sportakook, it is none of your business.”

Sportacus smiled wider to himself, but let go of the topic. He already got what he wanted. 

Then, to his surprise, his stomach growled loudly and the man chuckled awkwardly as the villain turned his attention back to him and raised an eyebrow. 

“You don’t happen to have any sportscandy around, do you?” 

“You wish I did.” Robbie grunted, but headed somewhere immediately, leaving his mug on the tiny table. 

“They are good for you, you know.”

“Don’t know, don’t care!” The voice echoed across the lair. As he finally came back, the villain had a coat on as well as a fluffy hat. “You wait here, I’ll get you something. Don’t even _try_ to exercise, in your state it’s dangerous. And I’ll take this--” He reached for the vest still laying in the corner of the bed and took the crystal out. “In case you think of helping anyone.”

“But Robbie, what if something--”

“I’ll take care of it.” Robbie quickly waved him off. “And put on a shirt, you’ll get a cold.” 

After the other left to the town, Sportacus found himself grinning like a child.

_ If they only knew their problems didn't end here. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Robbie deals with nosy kids!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back!

“What are you doing with all these apples, Robbie?” A child's voice asked and the villain almost jumped out of his skin, nearly dropping all the sportscandy he managed to gather. He turned around to face Stephanie who was eyeing him curiously and grimaced comically at her. No one was supposed to be out during lunch time, damnit.

“What apples, Pinky?” He asked with a sickly sweet smile, thinking hard of talking his way out of here.

“The ones you're holding, duh.” The girl raised an eyebrow at him, crossing arms on her chest.

“Ahh, _these_ apples!” Robbie laughed loudly and awkwardly, slowly looking around to make sure nobody else was in sight. “I haven't noticed those! I wonder how did they make their way--”

“To your arms?”

She was good.

“Alright, alright, guilty as changed. Now give me a break and go away kid, I have work to do…” He muttered as he messily packed the fruits to a bag, not really sure how much that Sportadoof would actually need. He probably should've asked about it. And did he have to find any other sportscandy as well? The half-fae was lucky the town was sharing the apples at all, otherwise he'd have to go around and, brr, _ask_.

“What work?”

“A secret mission, only for the best.”

“Can I go with you?”

That made him stop for a moment.

“Excuse me?”

“Can I join you? I can help, I really can, please please _please_ let me!”

Robbie wanted to say no, he really did. He didn't need another distraction, the brat could as well hurt herself while being nosy as always as his lab was so full of weird and possibly dangerous items. There wasn't much time he could spare her as well, besides he had to focus on finding out what exactly happened to Sportacus. But as he turned around and saw those big brown eyes staring at him with a tiny pount, he knew he couldn't turn her offer down.

“Alright, alright, _sheesh_. But it's a great secret, so you cannot tell anyone. Understood?”

 

\---

 

“Okay, listen up Pinky because I won't repeat myself.” Robbie said firmly as they stood in front of the entrance to the lair. He glanced quickly over the girl to check if he still had her attention and nodded go himself. “What you're going to see down there has to stay between us and only us. Got it? It's important.”

Stephanie didn't skip a second and smiled widely, nodding in agreement. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's go in!” She stated bouncing on the balls of her heels, excitement gleaming in warm eyes. The villain sighed quietly. He was going to regret this.

As they entered both of them noticed the familiar blue vest that was hung on the now-armchair. Confused Stephanie came a little closer, then squealed loudly which left Robbie grimacing once more.

“Sportacus!”

„Pinky, _wait_!” The villain shouted with a clear warning in his voice but it was too late; the child’s arms were already hooked onto Sportacus’ neck as she hugged him fiercely with the brightest smile. He watched the scene with horror as he remembered what took place the last time and what pain it caused him after he barely touched the hero. He shuddered slightly at the memory.

But nothing like this happened.

Instead, two pairs of eyes looked at him confused, Stephanie cocking her head to the side while Sportacus furrowed his eyebrows with visible concern, both of them perfectly fine. This was not what he had expected.

“I-I mean… Stephanie, Sportaflop-- well, _Sportacus_ has been through a lot and you need to be really careful around him so you don’t… hurt him on accident.” Robbie mumbled, still in shock of how close they were to another possible tragedy. He didn’t pay further attention to the other two as he raised his palm a little, examining the burnt and still hurting skin. What exactly did he miss? He couldn’t have dreamt of it, not when he had a solid proof right in front of his face. Did it have anything to do with him not being human? Or was it because he tried to use magic? That’d explain why only he was affected.

His train of thought and growing anxiety was interrupted as someone called him. The villain’s eyes shot up to see the hero watching him with worry.

“Robbie, can you hear me? I asked you what happened to your hand.”

The half-fae shook his head violently and quickly plastered a fake smile on his face.

“It's all good, it's just-- I wasn't careful enough. It happens.” He waved his hand dismissively at the other man to prevent him from further questions he couldn't deal with right now. Stephanie seemed just as saddened by this, but it didn't last long - after a moment the girl smiled widely and turned back to Sportacus only to start whispering something to him. As she got his nod of approval she stood up, dusted off her dress and pink jacket and sent the villain a cheerful grin.

“I have to go now, I forgot I need to help my uncle with the dinner. But I'll come back later if I'm still welcome?”

Robbie shrugged a little.

“If you want to…”

“Great! Then I'll see you soon! Bye Sportacus, bye Robbie!”

As she was gone, the half-fae quickly handed the hero his bag full of apples and ignoring the other’s offer to stay around, headed to his lab. He needed to cool off.

 

\---

 

Robbie couldn't tell how long it had been before he heard a soft knock on the metal walls to the entrance. He looked at the clock and seeing it was already evening  he sighed heavily, then rubbed the corners of his eyes. When did all this time go? The villain glanced down at the piece if tech he was tinkering with for the last half an hour. It didn't seem impressive, but in theory it might be of help with… What exactly? He couldn't really remember the reason now that he thought of it. Oh well, waste of potential was his _specialty_.

Another knock made him finally leave his chair. “Fine, fine, I'm coming!” He shouted, hoping to be heard by the unannounced guest. Before he could make more than two steps he tripped over, _of course he did,_ as several different cables turned out to be tangled around his ankle. He cursed under his breath, but decided to keep it quiet. By the time he was out of the cramped room everyone was already in. All the children stood next to the fluffy orange chair with Sportacus in the middle, asking him different questions.

“Are you okay?”

“Does something hurt?”

“We heard you're sick so we came to visit!”

“It's alright, really!” The hero smiled awkwardly, patting the younglings on the heads. “Yes, I was in trouble, but I'm okay now. Robbie helped me.”

Now five curious gazes turned to the half-fae and watched him for a few seconds, judging silently and thinking hard about what they just heard and Robbie _wished_ he could disappear. It’d probably take longer if not for Stephanie who took a step then another two forward and reached gently for his hand with a soft smile. “Come on Robbie, you don't have to be afraid.”

The villain cautiously followed her and, as they approached the kids, he did his best to smile and wave shyly.

“Do your job guys!” Yelled Stephanie and before Robbie could protest or teleport anywhere than here, the kids ran towards him and encircled only to start giving him warm hugs and thanking loudly for what he did.

“You're amazing, mister Rotten!”

“What you did was really nice!”

“ _You're our hero, Robbie!_ ”

The half-fae looked like he was soon going to cry. To avoid it he rubbed on his eyes once more and wiped the tears with his sleeve quickly,  then turned back to the pink girl who stood by Sportacus’ side.

“What is the meaning if this, Pinky?” He asked weakly.

“You said it was a secret, so naturally I told everyone.” She gave him her best grin and Robbie nodded.

"You sure did…”

Then he felt a small tug on his vest. “Mister Rotten?” Asked Stingy, the other younglings going quiet. “Can we now go and play?”

“Outside? It's cold and it soon will be dark, I don't think it's a--”

“No no, we wanted to play here so you wouldn't be alone.”

The villain looked up at Sportacus, then Stephanie, then back at the children. He didn't trust his voice anymore, he really couldn't, so all he did was mumble a short and simple ‘sure’. He met with loud cheers and another round of ‘ _thank you’_ s.

Soon after Robbie looked around the lair as the kids spread out, each quickly finding their new favorite place, and smiled just a little bit. He truly could not remember the last time it has been so noisy in here but to be honest with himself, he didn't really mind any of that. He watched the kids with a soft look - Pixel was trying to understand the way his infamous inventions worked; Ziggy was going through his secret stashes of sweets with a huge grin; Trixie was amazed by his disguises and put on a fancy hat; Stingy found joy in sitting in front of the TV and watching a movie; Stephanie turned on the radio and started dancing to the first energetic song. To make it even better they all shared with each other their fun, yelled out informations and passed out candy, offered help and giggled together. That was enough to warm the villain’s heart.

The half-fae flinched as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and turned his gaze back, only to relax once again as he saw Sportacus. The hero was giving him an enormous smile, the kind that was saying ‘ _I'm proud of you’_ and ‘ _You did well’_ and it meant a world to him.

“They're really starting to like you, Robbie.” Sportacus stated, giving the other a small reassuring squeeze. “I was afraid they wouldn't want to play with you too, but they did great.”

“I, too, grew a little fond of them overtime…” The villain admitted quietly, fidgeting with his hands shyly. He wasn't used to kindness. “Do you think… That I… That I could ever be their…”

“Friend?” The hero asked and after receiving a nod, he gave Robbie a thumbs up. “They already consider you a friend, just as I do! They only weren't sure if you actually liked them back, but after you saved me they knew you cared.”

The half-fae turned his gaze to the group of children, their happy faces and loud laughter and joy gleamed in his eyes.

“Yeah. _I do care_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me much more time that I expected. But it's long and quite nice, so enjoy! This is also one of the last fluffy chapters I planned for this story.


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